


The Inhabitants of Pevney Hotel

by RedLlamas



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Cults, Getting Together, Ghost Possession, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Kissing, M/M, Puppy Love, Sex Is Fun, Sex Magic, Simultaneous Orgasm, btw: be nice to retail workers, gratuitious movie references, mentions of death & forms of dying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:13:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLlamas/pseuds/RedLlamas
Summary: Ryan and Shane investigate the Pevney Hotel in Vulcan, WV, which is said to be haunted by a whole cast of ghosts, including a long deceased cult.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 12
Kudos: 42
Collections: Skeptic Believer Book Club Hallowe'en Fic Exchange 2020





	The Inhabitants of Pevney Hotel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beethechange](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beethechange/gifts).



> Words cannot begin to describe my thanks to [Yesi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uneventfulhouses) for betaing 💛

Pevney Hotel is located in Vulcan, West Virginia. It is a major paranormal tourist attraction, as the hotel has been the location of many deaths, and is said to still be haunted by its deceased residents. It is currently owned and run by Ms. Cressa Vasileiou, who offers night tours for individual investigators or group investigations. It’s still a functioning hotel, having operated since its foundation by Theodore Pevney in 1867, and also boasts its own garden, where they grow their own fruits and vegetables. Of the ghosts roaming the hotel, Theodore Pevney himself has been seen by visitors.

The hotel reports cold spots, shadow figures, objects moving at their own volition, and whispering voices. There have also been what have felt like earthquakes at the hotel, a very odd phenomenon for West Virginia, which experiences no earthquakes.

The ghosts at the hotel don’t seem to bother people, instead being outwardly friendly to those who stay. Reports indicate that the ghosts don’t seem to act with malicious intent, and seem to want to do good. One woman staying at the hotel said that one evening at dinner, her service dog had alerted her to allergens, tomatoes, in her food, and that for the rest of her stay, there weren’t any tomatoes served at  _ any _ meal, since it seemed that someone overnight had destroyed the tomato vines in the garden. The hotel’s surveillance cameras showed that there wasn’t anyone in the gardens that night, which led them to believe it had been the work of one of the ghosts who lived there.

Of the various ghosts living at Pevney Hotel, some are known by name. There is an old woman named Mrs. Fru who had died in her sleep, and is said to watch over sleeping children, making sure their play areas are safe and clean. Fermín is a teenage boy who tends to haunt the kitchens, and likes to throw food at the walls. Sweethearts Lin and Abhivir are a suicide couple that had jumped off the balcony, and are known for trying to set up couples in the hotel, manipulating radio stations to play romantic songs, and making flower arrangements appear in their rooms.

The most notorious ghosts, however, were the ghosts of the Litau Venus Cote.

The Litau Venus Cote was a cult founded in 1963 by Gerald Sturgeon, and it espoused the belief that Venus is the One True Goddess, that the Promised Heaven was on Her domain on the planet Venus, and that the pious can guarantee all of humanity’s salvation and entry if they followed Her age-old traditions. The Cote was semi-nomadic, moving around in an established territory, and when a good portion of them moved into the Pevney in 1967, they were in the midst of performing a revivifying ritual when a fire started, and consumed the hotel and its inhabitants. Now fated to live as spirits, their sincerest hope is that a couple can perform the ritual to completion, and liberate them from this plane of existence.

The good news is that two ghost hunters have decided to spend the night in their previous room.

~°☆°~

The Pevney Hotel is known for being a hotbed of paranormal activity. Many visitors have reported seeing ghostly figures walk into walls, shadow figures showing up at night, lights flickering on and off, cold spots, and even tremors in the entire building despite it not being built above any fault line.

Some of the most active areas in the hotel include the kitchens, where it's been reported that a young man throws food at the walls; the balcony of the honeymoon suite, where a couple had jumped off; and the most haunted room in the entire building, Room 227.

The tragedy of Room 227 comes from the fact that there had been a fire in the first floor that had quickly consumed the building. Many people evacuated, but the residents of Room 227 did not. But why?

Records indicate that at the time of the fire, it was being occupied by the majority of members of the Litau Venus cult. This cult, who referred to themselves as the Cote, was a semi-nomadic sect, migrating to different locations in their "territory" as dictated by the movements of the planet Venus, their deity. They were performing a life replenishing ritual in the room, and were so rapt that they didn't notice the fire, and died of smoke inhalation.

The few members who were not present were devastated, and most of them disbanded from the cult, now leaving the Litau Venus Cote a memory of the past.

"Boy, that's. That's kinda depressing, actually," Shane says.

"Yeah?" Ryan asks, looking up from his phone.

"Yeah! Because, this cult, like, listen all cults are bad," Shane says, looking at the camera. "Don't join a cult. It's not good for you."

"Another one of your PSAs?" Ryan asks, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Yeah, man! Listen, don't join a cult! Just don't do that. If you need a place to belong to, you can go to church! Or volunteer at a local organization! Or take a class!"

"I like how you listed the church as the first example, as a point against cults."

"The church is a government-sanctioned cult, but it  _ has _ done good for some people."

Ryan nods. "That's true."

"Anyways, what I was trying to say was that this cult, sure, it does cultish things, but in cults, you really have a sense of belonging and friendship, so to hear that almost all your friends died in a fire? That sucks."

"That  _ does _ suck. If we were in a cult, and you died, I'd also get depressed and leave."

"Aww, thanks, man! I really appreciate it!" Shane says, reaching over the small table between them to touch Ryan's shoulder. Ryan’s face lights up, and he does the same, then Shane takes his hand away. Ryan looks at him expectantly, waits a beat, then frowns.

"Wait, you're not gonna say the same to me?" Ryan asks.

"Oh, uh. I don't know,” Shane says, avoiding his gaze.

"What! You  _ wouldn't _ be depressed if we were in a cult and I died!?"

"Well, I! Of course I would be, I thought I reciprocated the sentiment when I touched your shoulder!"

"Sometimes you need to say things out loud!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Shane asks, devolving into giggles. Ryan shakes his head, but also starts giggling. They compose themselves after a while.

"Ry, please, continue," Shane prompts.

"Ok, so:

After the fire, and the deaths of the cult, many visitors mentioned feeling overflowing love when they stayed in the room.

"Love?" Shane asks, furrowing his brows.

"Yeah."

" _ Love? _ As in, ‘I don't have ill will of humanity, kumbaya, peace and love’ type of love? Were these cultists hippies?"

"Uh, I think so? I read up on them, and apparently the Litau Venus cote, cult, was truly about love, but they had this belief that we're all gonna go to the planet Venus when we die, and that the real god, or goddess, was the Roman goddess Venus."

Shane is just staring at him, trying his best to understand how ghosts can effuse love.

Ryan laughs at the face he's making. "So, since Venus is the goddess of love, they tried to share as much love as possible, and that lovingness was present in everything they did, because it also had something to do with saving humanity with love?"

"What the fuck," Shane whispers.

Ryan shrugs. “I don’t know. Uh, they were just very loving people. People who’ve stayed in their room have said that they feel very comforted, like a lot of people were keeping watch over them. That being said, couples have mentioned that they feel like they’re being pushed to… do things.”

“What… type of things?” Shane asks. His voice is level, but Ryan can see the pique of curiosity in his eyes.

“So, according to the survivors of Litau Venus, they were gonna perform a… ritual of sorts, that night of the fire, and I’m guessing that the last ritual got interrupted because of said fire, so that must mean that the ghosts are making the couples try to finish the ritual.”

“Okay, that makes sense. But what kind of ritual would involve–?” Shane stops himself, realization dawning on him. “It’s a sexy ritual.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely a sexy ritual,” Ryan confirms, looking back at his phone.

“And we’re gonna stay the night. In their room,” Shane says, mostly to himself. He’s looking at the carpets on the floor.

“Hey, if anything happens! You’ll have your proof of ghosts!” Ryan tries, voice raising as he does.

They share an awkward laugh.

“Do you guys wanna start investigating now?” Mark calls from behind his camera.

“Yes, please!” Ryan says, jumping out of his chair. Shane vigorously nods, getting up as well. They put on their harnesses, turn on their night vision cameras, and set out to explore the hotel, with the current owner Cressa leading the way.

As they start walking out of the lobby and into the hallways of the first floor, one of the Litau Venus members points at them, and tells their friend, “You heard what they said? They’re gonna stay in our sanctuary!”

“They can be the ones to set us free,” their friend realized. “Let’s tell the High Priestess!”

~°☆°~

The Cote was in a frenzy. After being told of the great news, the High Priestess called her doves to set up their room in the appropriate manner. She also made sure to tell their neighbors about the great news, that they’ll finally be able to move on to the Promised Heaven. Mrs. Fru was delighted for them, and set about helping to dust their room.

It was always a special occasion whenever someone–especially a couple–rented out their room for the night. Not many dared to after the first visitors since the fire had told everyone about the odd hauntings that went on there. There had been only a handful of individuals to come to their room since then, and each time, the Cote had done its best to set the mood for them. Sadly, no one was brave enough to withstand the night, and thus they’ve gone decades now without being able to move on.

The High Priestess sent her second in command, Jody, to keep a close watch on the boys. As she did so, the High Priestess turned to their psychic, Odette, to scry on them. The ritual only worked if the couple were truly devoted to each other, and had only pure love between them.

As the preparations for the boys’ arrival to their room forged ahead, the boys themselves were having a field day with the various other spirits roaming about. They entered the kitchen, and were calling out to Fermín, who was nervously hovering by the ovens.

“Hello there! I’m Ryan, this is Shane,” Ryan called out. They slowly walked around the kitchen, going between the stations. “We heard that someone named Fermín likes to hang out here. We don’t wanna hurt you, we just want to hear you out, understand why you’re always here.”

Shane slowly spun in place, holding out the EMF reader to catch anything. “Was the food here that good?” he asks.

“I think he actually died because of the food here,” Ryan clarifies, making Shane guffaw.

“Oh, well! That explains it!” Shane says, turning back to Ryan. “Ferm, is that true? You died from food poisoning?”

“Like Hector in Coco,” Ryan added. Shane beamed at that.

“Oh yeah! Ferm, did you actually die from food poisoning, and not actual poisoning?” Shane asks, looking around.

Fermín doesn’t know any Hectors, and feels affronted that they’d doubt what happened to him, and wants to let them know that.

_ I did. _

“You hear that?” Ryan said, excitement clearly written all over his face.

“What?” Shane asks, stepping closer to him.

“Fermín said ‘I did’!”

“It sounded like ‘ah eeh.”

“ _ Shane _ ,” Ryan admonishes, but can’t help the grin on his face.

“Could you tell us more about yourself, Ferm?” Ryan continues. “I got something here that might help you communicate with us.” He pulls out the spirit box, and giggles at Shane’s face. He holds it a ways from his own when he turns it on, the crackle of it filling the room. Mark pans the camera over the otherwise empty kitchen. Cressa leans against the doorframe, watching over them.

Fermín wants to, but doesn’t know where to start. He walks over to them, wants to say something, let them know that he was a person, but he just stands there, stammering, making their device click and stop. The boys are listening intently, and Fermín succumbs to shyness once more, steps back, back to the ovens. The boys leave their device on for a little while longer until they turn it off.

The boys continue on their way, going out the backdoor to the gardens beyond. The moon is bright and full, and crickets are singing their song. There’s a gentle breeze flowing by as well. All in all, a very romantic scene.

Ryan and Shane look up at the balcony from the honeymoon suite. Shane whistles.

“Boy, that is tall.”

“Yeah, that’s a guaranteed sudden death,” Ryan adds.

“Why’d they off themselves?” Shane asks, following Ryan as he meanders in the lawn.

“I’m not sure. I know that they were in love,” Ryan replies, not looking up from his night vision cam as he wiped the area with it.

“What type of love makes you wanna jump off a balcony together?” Shane muses, more to himself. Mark steps off from them a bit, giving them their space.

“Well, they do say that love makes you do crazy things.”

“If I were in love, and my partner said, ‘hey, let’s jump off the balcony together,’ I’d say ‘no fucking way.’”

Ryan shrugs and nods. “Yeah, me too.” He clears his throat, then begins. “Hello, that’s Shane, I’m Ryan. Are Lin and Abhivir here? Can you say something, or do something, to let us know that you’re here?”

Lin and Abhivir were definitely there, holding hands, and gently dancing around them. They giggled at their requests, shushing themselves so as to not make any sounds.

Ryan sighs. Shane looks up at the moon.

Lin skips to stand behind Ryan, and, looking conspiratorially at sen lover, blows on the back of his neck. Ryan’s reaction is immediate, skin goosebumping at the cold air, hand coming up to touch. He jumps up a bit, and he shivers with frisson.

“What, what happened?” Shane asks.

“Something blew on the back of my neck!” Ryan answers, voice shrill. Lin let out a hearty laugh, and went to high five Abhivir.

Back inside the hotel, the Cote were mostly finished with their preparatives. They all preened themselves, making sure their robes were clean and spiffy. Room 227 was cleared of dirt, dust, and cobwebs, and Mrs. Fru had sprayed some of her hidden perfume to freshen up the old linens. One of the cultists had gotten flowers from the gardens, and hurried back with them, setting them up in elegant arrangements around the room, and another had brought a small flask of lube and tucked it into the first drawer on the nightstand. The ceremonial rosered robe had been pulled on top of the bedsheets.

The High Priestess asks Odette what she had learned of the boys, and Odette gives her a wry smile.

“They’re in love, indubitably. But they haven’t told each other how they feel, so the ritual will take some time to get attended to.”

The High Priestess purses her lips, nodding. “You don’t think Venus will be upset that it’ll be done later than expected, right? I mean, She’s waited some fifty years already, and time flies quickly for the gods.”

Odette shrugs, and takes the Priestess’ hands in hers. “I’m sure She’ll understand, especially given the card we’ve been dealt. Their feelings are mutual, but they haven’t defined anything yet, they just need to figure it out.”

The High Priestess nods, and pats Odette’s hands.

~°☆°~

Jody kept an easy pace with the boys. They tend to lounge around a room for a good long while before moving on, always trying to provoke a response from the deceased. Jody appreciates that.

Some of her fellow doves have tagged along, and she’s had to shoo them away. These guys aren’t a tourist attraction, no matter how novel their presence is.

They were funny guys. The shorter of the two, Julian she thinks, seems to be more scared of them than the taller one, who she’s guessing is… Wayne? Wayne seems to be very laid-back, contrasting with Julian’s high-strung energy. But they make each other laugh, and that makes Jody laugh.

Wayne seems to appreciate the hotel itself a lot, noting how the decorations and paint work well together. On the stairs to the second floor, he’s leaning against the handrails, looking up from the steps to the chandelier hanging above.

“You know, this rug really ties the stairs together,” he says, and looks expectantly at Julian. Julian has his back turned to him, but Jody sees him immediately smile, and he turns to laugh with him.

“Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man,” Julian says, and they start cracking up. Wayne gets up from the railing and follows Julian up to the second floor, their cameraman Clark following them a few steps behind, and dear Ms. Cressa trekking along behind them. Jody hurries to catch up with the boys, enjoying witnessing them. She shoos some more doves who were waiting for them at the landing, and they depart, giggling into their hands.

“You want a toe?” Wayne continues. Julian shakes his head, cheeks reddening.

“I can get you a toe, believe me,” he says, voice going low. He elbows Julian, looking over his shoulder as if Clark wasn’t filming. “There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me.”

“Your John Goodman isn’t that spot on, big guy,” Julian evades, stepping onto the landing and looking over the lobby. Wayne stands next to him.

“Hell, I can get you a toe by three o'clock this afternoon... with nail polish.”

Julian wheezes into the night. Jody chuckles at his reaction.

Wayne shakes his head, eyes going wide. “These fucking amateurs…”

“Shane, oh my God,” Julian says, trying to cover his smile with his hand. Wayne looks over at him and smiles wide and bright.

~°☆°~

“Okay, let’s continue with the investigation, yeah?” Ryan says, already making his way to one of the rooms.

“Sure thing, dude,” Shane says. Ryan shoots him a look and he holds up his hands in surrender. “Hey now, that one came out organically.”

“Sure thing, dude,” Ryan parrots back, and Shane scrunches his face at him.

“Tell me, what’s going on in this room?” he tries.

“Oh, uh… I don’t know.”

Shane grins at him. “You don’t know? You’re the ghost expert here.”

“Yeah, okay, and?! Look, this entire hotel is full of ghosts, people report seeing ghostly things on every square inch, if anything, we might be able to find something here instead of the popular ghost haunts.”

“Well, if  _ you _ say so…” Shane trails off, but enters the room all the same. This looks like a guest room, with the bed opposite the door, the bathroom off to the side, and a table and chair near the door. There’s a small bookshelf on the other side of the room, and Shane walks over to peruse the titles.

“Hello, my name is Ryan.”

“I’m Shane.”

“And we’re reaching out to anyone that might be in this room, make your presence known.” Shane turns back to face him, pointing his night vision on him. Ryan listens intently to his audio feed.

“You can move something, say something.”

“If you’re one of the cultists, then you have my full permission to attack me,” Shane tries.

“Shane,” Ryan starts, but gets cut off by the man himself.

“I want you guys to tear open my thorax! Spill my guts all over this room! Look, look at this bed!” Shane says, skipping over to gesture at it. “Look how  _ clean _ it is! It’d be awful if I spilled all my guts over it! Imagine the toll on the poor cleaning lady! Having to see blood in this hotel again!”

“Yeah, it’s even good material,” Ryan adds, joining him at the bed. He fingers the material, feels it soft under his touch. “I’m sure it’d be a bitch to wash out the blood from this.”

“You guys would just let this opportunity go to waste? All of  _ this _ –” he starts gesturing to himself “–could be yours! So please! Kill me! Cut me! Slice me open!”

Silence befalls them.

“I don’t think they’re gonna kill you,” Ryan whispers, but Shane shushes him.

“Shh! You’ll scare them away!” Shane whisper-yells.

Ryan looks at Mark, feeling very much like Jim from the Office. Cressa is trying to stifle her laughs. Shane doesn’t move for another few minutes, and then stands up straight again.

“Okay, these losers aren’t gonna ice me,” he says disappointedly. “Bye ghosts, you fucking wimps,” he calls out as he leaves the room.

“I’m sure you guys aren’t wimps,” Ryan says, then hurries after Shane, grinning at his antics.

“Did you apologize to the ghosts?” Shane asks, incredulous.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“We’re gonna spend the night here! I don’t wanna wake up to you actually iced!”

“But that’d be your perfect evidence.”

“I don’t want to sacrifice my best friend just to make a point.”

Shane goes quiet at that, cheeks pinkening. “Okay, whatever.”

Ryan grins at him, and takes him by the elbow, steering him down the hall to their room. Mark follows, but Cressa goes to attend a guest who had come out of his room to know what was all the racket. She quickly explains, and the guest is soon ushered back into his room.

~°☆°~

In their room awaits them a retinue of ghosts, mostly composed of the Litau Venus, but some from the rest of the household. Everyone was excited for the cult, knowing that they’ve had their hopes dashed with every failed couple that passed by. Maybe this could be it! They can finally rest.

Shane whistles when he enters their room. “Look at our digs!”

“Yeah! It’s… oddly nice,” Ryan notes.

“Yeah, it smells and looks incredible. Look at all the flowers,” Shane says, gesturing around. Ryan looks around, and agrees, all the flower arrangements look spectacular. Their faint scents fill the room, but there’s something else underlying it. He goes over to the nightstand, and runs his hand over its surface. No dust. Huh.

He figures he shouldn’t be surprised, since this hotel has still been running since it was built. Hell, their guide left them for a bit to attend a surprise guest. Still, though, even normal cleaning staff wouldn’t leave a place  _ this _ spotless. He wonders if there’s anything under UV light.

Shane sits at the end of the bed, scanning the room with his camera.

The room feels… off, somehow.

“You know what this room reminds me of?” Ryan begins.

“What?”

“A funeral home.”

Shane furrows his brows, but sits and contemplates it. “Huh. It kinda does.”

“Right?”

Shane hums. There’s...definitely Something Else going on in this room, though he can’t tell what exactly. Could be the A/C acting weird.

They stay there in silence for a bit, the hairs on Ryan’s arms going up, the feeling of being watched dawning on him.

“Let’s reach out to them,” he says, and gets back into ghost hunting mode. “Hello, my name’s Ryan, that’s Shane. Is there anyone in here with us right now?”

The ghosts perk up at that, low murmurs going around the room. Odette nudges the High Priestess, and gestures over to the boys. She nods, stands up straight, and walks over to them. She sees that they’re holding out some instruments to record her voice, so she clears her throat and enunciates clearly, “The entire Cote of the Litau Venus is in your presence.”

Shane and Ryan don't seem to hear her, as they're trying to listen intently to their surroundings.

"Can you tell us your name?" Ryan asks.

"I'm the High Priestess of the Litau Venus."

No true reaction.

"Were you one of the cultists that died here?"

"Well, yes, I–"

"They probably don't like to be called cultists," Shane interrupts.

"Oh, I never thought about that," Ryan says.

"Wow, that's very inconsiderate of you. I thought you respected ghosts."

"I  _ do _ respect ghosts! I'm respectfully standing here in the place of a devastating accident, and you're just sitting there looking pretty."

"Aww, you think I'm pretty?" Shane grins at him.

"Shut up, Shane."

Shane laughs. Ryan shakes his head, and scans the room with his EMF reader. This room has definitely the highest readings he's gotten, probably because of the amount of deaths in the room. That must be sad, lingering here without really knowing why.

"Okay, ghosts, I'm gonna take out a little something that will probably help you to communicate with us," Ryan calls out, and pulls out the spirit box.

"It's awful, though," Shane comments. Ryan shakes his head at him.

The spirit box screeches to life, and soon, its pulsing chatter fills the room. The High Priestess steps back in surprise at the loudness of it.

"Is there anyone with us right now, that'd like to say something?"

"I'm the High Priestess of the Litau Venus cote," she tries again, and this time, their machine crackles with a voice. Ryan and Shane look at each other.

"Did you hear that?" Ryan asks.

"Eees ta anus," Shane says.

"I heard 'priestess,' and I heard 'Venus.'"

"How did you hear the word priestess,” Shane asks, squinting suspiciously at him.

"Ms. Priestess, can you tell us about yourself? Or about your cult– your… cote?"

"Oh yes!" she says, clapping her hands in excitement.

" _ That _ was a clear 'oh yes!'" Ryan says.

"Sounded like squeaking."

"Ms. Priestess, please, continue."

“The Cote is dedicated to our goddess, Venus, and we want to spread Her message of love and union! And those of us left are hoping that you will fulfill our ritual to move on and join Her in the Promised Heaven! We’ve been waiting for you all these years, and we hope it’ll be worth it.”

As she talked, Shane and Ryan paid attention to the peculiar clips coming from the spirit box. What they heard from her speech was:

_ –Goddess Venus–  _

– _ love _ – 

– _ Heaven _ –

And, clear as day:

_ –we've been waiting for you _ .

Ryan was wide eyed and trembling. He looks over at Shane, and sees him with his brow furrowed. Other than that, he doesn’t give anything else away.

"Shane?" he whispers. The words  _ we’ve been waiting for you _ take hold of his mind.

"Uh."

"Shane,” he tries again. He’s breathing heavily now, panic starting to settle in.  _ We’ve been waiting for you _ .  _ We’ve been waiting for you _ . “We’re gonna die here.”

“No, no no, no we’re not,” Shane says, quick to his feet to be near Ryan. He places a firm hand on his shoulder and squeezes. “We’re not gonna die because… because…”

Ryan stares at him, scared. If Shane can’t come up with a quip at the moment, then that means that Shane  _ heard _ her. Heard what she had said, what she told them. What a way to finally get him to believe.

“That was just the radio. This is a hotel, someone must be listening to their 101.5 light FM music at the ass of night, and they’re messing up with your spirit box.”

Ryan doesn’t notice when Shane cradles his face in his hands, blinking when he realizes he’s inches from Shane’s face. He’s so… worried. And frightened.

“The radio?” he asks, voice small.

“It’s the radio,” Shane assures him.

Ryan slowly nods, exhales. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Shane says, letting go of him, patting his arms. He steps back, and Ryan wants to follow, but keeps himself planted where he is. He brings a hand up to his face, tries to stave off possible tears. He takes one last recentering breath, and looks at their small crew again. Shane is now sitting on the bed next to him, Mark is frowning behind the camera, and Cressa has come back and is… remorseful?

“Cressa, are  _ you _ okay?” Ryan asks.

“Yeah, no, it’s just that,” she starts, and sighs. “Lots of couples, or duos, or whatever, they’ve always been targeted by the ghosts in this room. When you guys had called in and said that the two of you were gonna stay in this room, I was very hesitant because I didn’t want this,” she gestures to him, “to happen again. I’m sorry, I should’ve not let you guys stay here.”

“No, no, it’s okay, I’m alright. It’s just… a lot to handle,” he assures.

“You sure? I can move you guys into another active room if you’d like,” she offers, pointing back out the door.

“No! It’s okay! Really! I’m pretty sure I can take on these ghosts,” he says, shaking his hands.

“Cressa, don’t worry, I scare away everything paranormal, he’ll be safe with me,” Shane asserts, reaching over to pat Ryan on his back. From his position, he just pats the back of Ryan’s wrist.

“Okay, guys, if you’re sure…”

“We’re sure,” Shane says, nodding definitively.

“Alright! Just don’t come after me if the ghosts get you,” she says, smile spreading on her face.

Ryan and Shane manage a polite chuckle. "Don't worry, I'd have gotten the proof that this guy needs," Ryan jokes, shaking Shane's shoulder.

"Alright, well, if this is it, I hope you guys have a nice stay at the Pevney Hotel!" Cressa says, and goes over to shake their hands goodbye. When their goodbyes are done and over, she waves at them, and leaves.

"You guys want me to set up the tripod?" Mark asks, turning off his camera.

"Yeah, please," Shane says, dumping his ghost hunting gear on the bed.

"I'm gonna get our shit, be right back, guys," Ryan says, heading out the door. He goes downstairs to the lobby, where Cressa had said they could keep their things beforehand.

As he walks through the hotel alone, he's surprised at feeling watched, but not… threatened. As if it's just passive ghosts looking as he passes by.

He goes down the stairs, skipping down quickly. When he gets to the lobby, he picks up their overnight bags, and turns heel to go back.

When he arrives, Mark has already set up the tripod, and leaves, shooting a goodbye over his shoulder. Ryan hands Shane his bag, and takes his own into the bathroom. After getting into his pajamas, he takes his place on his side of the bed as Shane lumbers off to the bathroom. It’s still warm from when Shane was sitting there, and Ryan smiles to himself. He spreads his hands on the bed, feels the soft material under his fingers. It’s a deep, rich red, contrasting slightly with the bedding, but not terribly so. He lets his fingers play on the cover, enjoying the silky feeling. He looks up as he hears Shane come back from the bathroom. As he nears, he sets his bag next to his nightstand, and takes Ryan’s hand away, finally sitting on the bed.

“You’re on my side,” he says, placing Ryan’s hand back into his lap. Ryan scrunches his nose at him, and puts his hand back on Shane’s side. Shane glances at him, a smile edging on his lips. He takes Ryan’s hand and shoves it back. Ryan pushes against him, and they struggle against each other, each trying to win their territory back. Ryan tightens his grip on Shane’s hand, and manages to wrestle their hands back into Shane’s space. Shane lets go of his hand, making Ryan’s hand smack into his thigh.

“Ow,” Shane says, and they giggle at themselves.

Ryan holds up his hands, and leans back onto his own side, grabbing his phone. Shane sits back comfortably, and leans over to connect his phone. As he charges it, Ryan stretches his leg so that it falls across Shane’s lap, and Shane doesn’t even blink an eye as he resettles his arms on top of them. Ryan snaps a picture of him.

~°☆°~

The High Priestess was wringing her hands, waiting with bated breath.

These guys… were not gonna do it.

Like Odette had said, they're barely outwardly loving in their actions, and keep being shy next to each other, even in the solace of their room. According to Jody's report, however, they clearly had something unspoken between them, so there's obviously want between them, they just have to figure out how to act on it.

She looks at her Cote, and beckons Blaine and Evan to the front.

“Will you two be able to...speed things up?” she asks.

They look at each other, and grin.

“Sure! I think we can handle that, right, Vee?” Blaine says, elbowing Evan in the side. Evan smiles up at him, and enthusiastically nods.

“I’d be happy to,” Evan says. He loops their arms together, and they walk to the bed, standing on either side of it.

“I’ll take the big guy, Wayne, was it?” Blaine says.

“Sure, I’ll do Julian,” Evan agrees, and they smile at each other before climbing onto the bed and into their respective guys.

Ryan and Shane both feel a sudden shiver run up their spines at the moment of possession, and shake with it.

“Wow,” Blaine-Shane says, looking down his body, at his hands, his legs. He looks over at his companion, and sees that he’s having the same reaction.

“Can you feel it?” Evan-Ryan asks, carefully touching his chest.

“Their love?” Blaine asks, setting the phone down on the nightstand. He takes off his glasses as well, and shifts so that he kneels on the bed. Evan does the same, freeing his host from any accessories.

“Yeah! He’s practically vibrating with it,” Evan says, holding up his hands to see. He grabs Blaine’s hand and presses it against his chest. “You see?”

Blaine can feel the jackrabbit beat of Evan’s heart. He grins at him, and leans forwards to kiss him on the lips. Evan smiles into their kiss, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Blaine lets his hands grip Evan’s hips, feels how strong his frame is. When Evan stops kissing him to start mouthing at his neck, Blaine lets his hands wander some more, up his back, down his arms.

“Boy, this Wayne guy sure is a lucky fella,” he notes.

“Yeah?” Evan asks, pulling at the hem of his shirt, and Blaine quickly complies, raising his arms so that Evan can pull it up and away.

“Yeah! Julian is in perfect shape. Just look at those biceps,” he says, pulling Evan’s shirt off as well. He lets his hands splay over his shoulders, down his chest to caress Evan’s abdomen, but hits his nipples on the way down, causing a most interesting reaction.

Evan gasps at the contact, and arches his back. Blaine raises his eyebrows, smiling wide as he now deliberately rubs his nipples. Evan grabs his hands, doing his best to breathe normally again.

“Julian is! Very sensitive!” he says, and huffs a laugh. Blaine grins at him, and presses another kiss to his lips. He gently pushes them to lay down on the bed, and palms at the front of Evan’s shorts, revelling in how Evan mewls at the touch. He’s hard already, and rocks into Blaine’s touch.

“Fuck, baby, I don’t remember seeing you like this before,” Blaine says, rubbing him a bit more before finally sliding his hand down under the waistline. To his surprise, he was met by a pair of boxers, and he took a moment to really commend Julian for respecting his friend like this.

“Where’s the lube?” Blaine asks. Evan lifts his head and waves over behind him to his nightstand. Blaine presses a kiss on his cheek, and moves off the bed to properly take off their bottoms.

“Can you get it while–?” he begins, but Evan is already propping himself up to lean over and get the lube. Blaine takes his shorts and boxers off, and throws them to the side. He divests himself of his own sweats, and when he crawls back into bed, Evan holds out the small bottle to him.

They kiss again, slotting their bodies against each other, rubbing and rocking together, and their moans and gaps fill the room. Blaine leans up and uncaps the bottle, squeezing some lube into his hand. He reaches between them to grab their members and jack them off, the familiar squelching sound warming their cheeks.

“I missed being with you,” Evan whispers, and Blaine is, not for the first time, overcome with love for his husband.

“I did, too,” he says, and Evan gives him such a dopey smile that he wants to kiss it, so he does. Evan brings his hands up to run them through Blaine’s hair, grabbing fistfuls and tugging. Blaine groans against his lips, and Evan smiles, spreading his legs underneath him. Blaine leans up to squeeze some more lube into his hand, pressing his forehead against Evan’s, and finally,  _ finally _ , slips his fingers between his legs. He rubs his fingers against Evan’s hole, filling with glee when he feels it flutter. He slips in a finger, feels Evan tense around him before letting himself relax. He slowly works him open, adding a second finger, and then a third, until Evan is whining and rocking back on him like the first time they were together.

“Vee, I love seeing you like this, but do you think that this is a good place to stop off at?” Blaine asks.

Evan opens his eyes, and looks up at Blaine. “You think they can take care of themselves from here?”

“Yeah, why not?” Blaine says, shrugging. “We can both feel they’re horny, we just overcame their barriers, and what better situation to wake up to than to sexy times?”

“That  _ is _ true,” Evan says. He grins at him, and brings him down for one last kiss. “See you on the other side.”

“You know it, baby,” Blaine promises, and kisses down Evan’s cheek, over his neck, and onto his collarbone as he keeps fingering him open. Soon enough, they filter away from their hosts, and rejoin their Cote as spectral voyeurs.

~°☆°~

Shane and Ryan are still caught in their guests’ ghostly throes, and only after Shane had bitten down on Ryan’s juncture, and Ryan had mewled out, “Shane,” did they Realize where they were and what they were doing.

It was like a haze slowly lifting, as the realization dawned on them. At the call of his name, Shane lifted his head to look at Ryan, but when he sees Ryan’s horrifyingly, red, awed face, he stops moving his hand, and feels his heart beat fast at Ryan’s gasp. His hips chase after him momentarily, and for a second, they lay there, looking at each other with bated breath, waiting for everything to fall apart.

Shane starts slipping his fingers out of Ryan, but Ryan’s hand comes down to hold him in place, squeezing his eyes shut. Shane flushes at that, and stills his hand.

“Ryan,” he begins. His voice is low, and he clears his throat to speak again, “Ryan… do you… remember… how we ended up like this?”

Ryan licks his lips, and isn’t that a sight to behold?

“I just remember feeling cold, and then… the room kinda got hazey? Like I wasn’t seeing clearly,” he says. Shane nods, remembering the same haze that befell him.

“We were talking, but it wasn’t  _ really _ talking, right?” he asks. His arm is starting to hurt from having to hold himself up so long.

Ryan thumbs Shane’s skin from where he’s still holding onto his hand between them, and Shane wants to die. He instead tries to stay in the moment.

“Something must’ve happened between us that led to...this. I should, I should actually,” he trails off, taking his hand away from Ryan’s asshole, and at Ryan’s soft whine, he leans up and sits on his heels.

“Ryan,” he begins, trying to keep a level voice, “We could be contending with a possible roofie situation, and you’re! Still!?” he gestures to Ryan’s privates, and has to witness Ryan trying to surreptitiously jerk himself off, and brings up his hands to run through his hair, embarrassment and shame and confusion and frustration all making his face heat uncomfortably.

Ryan frowns at him indignantly, slightly closing his legs, and propping himself up on his elbows “Hey! Don’t! Slutshame me!”

“I’m?!? I’m  _ not _ slutshaming you, I’m slutshaming this entire situation.  _ Why _ are we even about to have sex? Aren’t you concerned about that?”

Ryan sits up, opening his mouth to retort, but thinks for a moment more. “I’m not…” he begins, then at Shane’s horrified expression, is quick to add, holding up his hands, “I mean that I’m not that concerned! About us having sex.”

Shane grimaces at him, raises his hands to convey some sort of emotion, but all he does is move the air around. “What! Part of that doesn’t concern you?! Jesus, I thought  _ I _ was the cool, collected one.”

“I  _ am _ concerned! But not about the part that involves us, look, listen. I am concerned about  _ how _ we started having sex–” at that, Shane’s eyebrows fly into his hairline “–but not regarding the sex itself.”

“Why aren’t you concerned about the sex itself?”

Ryan sits criss-cross applesauce. He plays with the cover, doesn’t look at Shane when he says, “Because it’s with you, and I’m never concerned with you.”

Shane ruefully smiles at that.

“Plus, also,” Ryan continues, daring to raise his sight. “I’ve actually always wanted to… you know.”

Shane lets that sink in for a moment. He blinks, twice, thrice.

“You’ve wanted to? ...With me?” he asks. Ryan looks surprised at that.

“Well, yeah! You’re my best friend, and I love you, but I also… think about you in a not-friendly way.”

Shane starts breathing a little quicker now. “Really? Like what?”

Ryan grins at him, and nervously laughs. “You really wanna hear my fantasies about you?”

Shane’s gonna die. “I can’t believe anyone’s had fantasies about me in general.”

“I think Steven fantasizes about strangling you sometimes.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, but, that doesn’t count, that’s just normal fantasies with friends.”

“Oh, ‘normal fantasies with friends.’ Does that mean that my sexy fantasies about you, my friend, don’t fall under normal?”

“If they’re sexy fantasies, then they automatically don’t count.”

Their smiles are easier now, now that they’re back in their niche, joking with barely coherent bits.

What’s not normal about this, despite the mystery surrounding how they got here in the first place, is the fact that right then, the entire room starts to shake and groan. West Virginia doesn’t get any earthquakes, but that doesn’t stop them from quickly holding onto each other, immediately looking up at their room. Everything is shaking, from the bed, to the chiffonier, to the windows, and especially the small chandelier hanging about them.

There’s an old-timey radio on the chiffonier, and it suddenly crackles to life, needle rolling around to get a signal, radio hum blaring from it. They look to it at the sudden sound, and just as quick, a loud wailing scream can be heard from it. Ryan lets go of Shane to cover his ears against it, and Shane shields him with his arms, looking everywhere around him for any threat.

The wailing slows down enough so that what was a high scream turns into someone yelling, “ _ Nooo! _ ” The –person, entity, whatever, starts… speaking. Shane looks at it in surprise, and shakes Ryan to notice as well.

“ _ No no no! Stop it! _ ” it yells, and Shane’s surprised to realize that that’s a human voice, and not just some radio station. Ryan furrows his brows at it.

“Stop it?” Ryan repeats, voice low. The radio crackle had lowered momentarily, then reared back to life.

“ _ Yes, stop it! Stop talking about your feelings and just get on with it! _ ”

Shane snorts, lets his hands drop from Ryan’s shoulders down to his hands. “Wait, what? Are these ghosts?”

“I think so?” Ryan says, and looks around the room. It’s still shaking, but nothing has been thrown at them yet, nor has the temperature dropped significantly. He looks back at the radio and, in his best ghost hunting voice, asks, “Are you ghosts?”

“ _ Yes! _ ”

Shane’s smile is wide and bright, and he claps his hands in astonishment. “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh, God, I can’t believe it’s real!” He looks excitedly at Ryan and grabs his cheeks. “Ghosts!”

Ryan smiles back at him, and nods enthusiastically. “I told you! Ghosts!”

“Ghosts!” Shane repeats, practically shaking with glee, and pulls him in for a kiss. Ryan’s surprised, and for a moment leans back, but when his brain catches up with his body, he’s kissing Shane back, hands coming up to rest on his hips as Shane tilts his head to get more of his mouth, sliding his tongue against his lip, and Ryan opens up easily for him, it’s so easy to do this for Shane.

As he whines into Shane’s mouth, he hears the radio crackle with...cheering? He opens his eyes, sees Shane looking so into kissing him he feels only slightly bad when he leans his head back. Shane gives a whine of his own, chasing after Ryan, but Ryan brings up a hand to his mouth to stop him. He nods over to the radio.

“Did you hear cheering?”

Shane gives a half-shrug, leaning back in to kiss Ryan, but Ryan’s looking over at the radio, and puts his hand back on Shane’s mouth.

“Ghosts?” he asks. “What are you doing? And can you tell me a name while you’re at it?”

Shane licks Ryan’s palm, and Ryan gets grossed out, taking his hand away. Shane smiles deviously at him, and calls out, “I’m Shane, that’s Ryan.”

Ryan looks back at him and giggles, pressing another kiss to his lips. “We just wanna know what happened to you guys,” he continues the script, and grabs a handful of Shane’s hair, pulling his head back so that he can kiss over his cheek to his earlobe, and suck on it. Shane makes an embarrassed sound, and Ryan wants more of it.

“ _ We’re cheering because you guys are finally gonna get down to it! _ ”

“‘Get down to it,’ huh?” Shane calls out. Ryan smiles against his skin, likes the way his voice wavers. He sucks the skin right underneath it, sure to leave a pretty purple spot, and he doesn’t miss the way Shane lets out a gasp. He brings his hand over to Shane’s dick, and finds him still hard, gives him a few tugs. Shane arches at the touch, moves himself closer to Ryan, wanting more of his touches.

“You ghosts wanna see us fuck?” Ryan calls out, and gives into Shane’s desires, jerking him off slowly and deliberately, all to wring some more whines out of him.

“ _ We just want you  _ to _ fuck. _ ”

“Kinky,” Shane breathes out, and Ryan laughs at that. Shane cracks into a grin, and they start falling into each other as they laugh, foreheads bumping together, noses squishing. Shane eases up first, and sits, looking at Ryan. Ryan looks back at him, and raises his eyebrows, gently smiling at him. Shane feels his heart sing at the sight.

“I wanna fuck you,” Shane whispers, and Ryan giggles.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Even without the ghosts, I want to fuck you.”

“How sweet.”

“I  _ am _ known for my lady-killing ways.” Shane gives him a smoulder, and Ryan kisses it away.

“Well, you should get on with it, then, both the ghosts and I’ve been waiting for fifty years to do that.”

“Oh, fifty years, huh? Well, we can’t keep ‘em waiting now, can we?”

Ryan laughs conspiratorially at that, and looks around the bed for the lube, handing it over to Shane triumphantly when he does. Shane grins at him as he opens it again, squeezing some back onto his fingers. Ryan lays back down on the bed, spreading his legs for him as he looks at his hands. Shane has half a mind to ask if he’s also got a hand fetish, but just the sight of Ryan presenting himself to him is enough to keep him in reverent silence.

He excitedly slips his fingers back into Ryan, and works him open again. Ryan happily mewls for him, throwing his head back on the bed, hands coming up to grip onto his shoulders. Shane lets his eyes roam over Ryan’s body freely now, taking in all the brown, and all the contours of him. He blushes at remembering the nipple bullshit bits they did, so he dips his head to kiss Ryan’s nipples, earning him surprised yelps. That certainly does something to him, so he grazes his beard over them, and Ryan shudders underneath him.

“Shane,” he whimpers, hips lowering down onto his fingers. Shane spreads his fingers inside, and Ryan lets his mouth open in an O. His skin goosebumps, and he starts rocking his hips on Shane’s fingers. Shane slips in a third finger, presses kisses along Ryan’s neck, feels his pulse jump at the action, and licks a stripe up against his vein. He humps the bed between Ryan’s legs, sure that he’ll stain the red dress with how much he’s leaking already. Fuck, he’s so horny.

“Can I fuck you now? I really wanna be in you right now,” Shane says in a hurry, slipping his hand from Ryan to instead grip at his dick, giving him a few quick tugs, much to Ryan’s whiplash.

“Really?” Ryan says, breathless. He actually sounds kinda touched, and Shane lifts his head to look at him, and confirms that yes, indeed, Ryan is moved by that.

“Yeah, really!” he says. He takes his hand away from Ryan’s dick to instead take his hand and bring it over to his own cock. Ryan lifts his head to look at it, flushing on his chest.

“Feel how much I wanna fuck you, baby,” he whispers, and cocks his hips so that Ryan can feel his length. Ryan gives a chuckle, looking away to look up at his face.

“Then fuck me, already.”

There’s a wolf-whistle at that, and they both spare a glance to the radio before meeting each other’s gaze again and breaking into wide grins.

Ryan grabs the lube bottle and squeezes some into his hand, quick to slather Shane’s cock with it. Shane whimpers above him, rocking in time to Ryan’s hand.

“Can you cum in me?” Ryan asks, and Shane’s eyes widen at that.

“I’m not even in you yet,” Shane says.

“Well, yeah, but, I just want you to know that that’s an option. That you can take.”

“Cool, okay,” Shane says quickly. Ryan grins at that, and takes his hand off his dick to slap his flank. Shane lets out a small yelp at that, and aligns himself with Ryan’s hole, gently sliding in. Ryan hums at the feeling, closing his eyes as Shane fills him up. Shane lets out a groan when he finally buries himself to the hilt, and takes a moment to bask in the feeling.

Ryan brings his hands up to card through his hair, but his lubed up hand uncomfortably sticks to the locks he touches, and Shane makes a face at the feeling, jerking his head away.

“Gross,” he says. Ryan grimaces as well, taking his hand away, wipes it on the covers. Shane eyes his hands suspiciously now when Ryan tries to bring them up again.

“What! I cleaned them!” he insists.

Shane raises his eyebrows. “Yeah, okay. Because wiping them superficially on the bedsheets counts as cleaning them.”

“Where do you want me to put this hand then?” Ryan asks, wiggling his fingers.

“Well…” Shane begins, a teasing smile on his lips, gaze trailing down Ryan’s chest to his flushed cock.

“ _ Oh my God, just get on with it already! _ ”

“Sorry ghosts, I’m trying to entice him here,” Shane calls out.

“ _ Your dick is already up his ass! _ ”

Ryan barks a laugh at that, and Shane also has to laugh. Ryan brings his hand to grab Shane’s chin and pull him in for a kiss, smiling against his lips when he feels Shane grimace against him. He brings his legs up to wrap them around Shane, locking his ankles above him, and uses them to kick at Shane. Shane’s grimace turns into a grin when he gets the message, and starts gently rocking out of Ryan, all to slide back in. Ryan lets out a moan, head thrown back on the bed, as he feels Shane all around him.

Shane lowers himself on his elbows, wanting to be closer to Ryan. They’re practically flush with one another, and their edges and separation fuzz to a point where there doesn’t seem to be anything separating them anymore. As he rocks into Ryan, Shane feels a tranquility settle over him. He’s always been meant to be here.

Ryan meets his thrust with his own canting hips, urging him closer, closer still. He wraps his arms around Shane’s neck, keeps him near so as to pepper kisses all over his face, his neck, his jaw. He wants the feeling of Shane inside him to last forever.

Shane’s cock grazes his prostrate, and he lets out a loud whine, arching under him. His arching makes their chests rub, and the sudden stimulation on his nipples makes him ache some more, whine breaking under his want. Shane presses a kiss to his temple.

Shane starts canting his hips quicker, desire to make Ryan cum growing as his own need starts growing. He can feel it, down his spine, like a feather, tracing gently down to the base of his cock.

“Ryan,” he whispers, burying his face in Ryan’s neck, breathing him in, kissing him. He worries that he’s being too rough now, at the feeling of Ryan squeezing around him, but when he slows down, Ryan digs his heels into his back, crying out, “No, no, keep going, please, please, Shane.”

Shane continues his quick pace, brings a hand up to caress Ryan’s face. Ryan tilts his head, his nose against Shane’s cheek, breath hot on his ear as he moans loudly. Shane feels a warmth pool low in his stomach, in his thighs. He whines, presses another kiss to Ryan’s hot skin.

“Ryan,” he whispers. “I’m so close."

Ryan nods against him, grabbing tightly onto him. His toes curl above them, and he brings up a hand to run through Shane’s hair.

“Me too,” he breathes out, voice uneven. Shane smiles against his skin, and kisses a trail up to Ryan’s mouth. He starts fucking into Ryan with abandon, their skin slapping the loudest noise in the room. He sneaks a hand between them to touch Ryan’s dick, thumbing over his head. Ryan bucks against his touch, and with just a few tugs, finally comes over Shane’s hand and stomach. Shane fucks him through his orgasm, chasing his own inside of Ryan, hips stuttering to a halt when he does.

They stay together, two moments frozen in ecstasy as they slowly come down their highs. Ryan whines, and Shane gently squeezes his dick, wanting to wring him out. Ryan bats his shoulder, letting out the prettiest cries Shane’s ever heard.

“Fuck, Shane,” Ryan whispers, and they wheeze at themselves, dopey smiles on their faces. Their wheezing is cut short, however, when suddenly the room trembles. Shane lifts his head to look around, and sees the furniture jump, the paintings shiver, and the windows quaver. Ryan grabs his shoulders in fear, jutting his chin at the chandelier above them, which is swinging something awful.

The radio starts crackling loudly, needle rolling quickly between all the stations, static screeching through the speakers. It sounds like something, someone, is trying to speak through it, but all that’s heard is a loud groaning that makes them freeze up inside.

“Ghosts?” Ryan calls out, a tremble in his voice.

“Everything good?” Shane asks. He slips out of Ryan, regrettably, so that he can lean back up on his elbows, shielding Ryan from whatever could happen.

“ **_W E EE E E THANK YOUU U U U!! ! ! ! !!!! !_ ** ” the radio manages to roar out. Ryan and Shane wince at its sharpness.

“Thank us? For fucking?” Ryan asks.

“ **_YOOOOOU’ V V VVE EEE FREEEEEED U S S SSS!_ ** ”

“What the fuck,” Shane says.

“ **_FREE EE EE EEEE E E EEE EE E!_ ** ” the voices scream, and as it drones on, the lightbulbs start popping all around them, from the nightstand, to the chandelier, and lamp lights. As the bulbs explode, Ryan hurries to cover them with the ostracized blanket, quick to wrap Shane in it. They wait out the end of the lightbulbs, faces pinched in fear and anxiety.

There seems to be no more lightbulb popping, as the voices from the radio taper off, eventually silencing all together. The boys hear yelling from out in the corridor, though.

Shane carefully slides off the bed, throwing the blanket to the other side to catch all the glass from the chandelier. When he stands, he helps Ryan out, and they hold each other as they look around them. Glass everywhere, furniture overturned, chandelier swinging. Some of the window panes are broken, and their bed has actually shifted some.

“What the fuck,” Ryan whispers.

“We… can’t. Stay in here anymore, huh,” Shane says.

“No we can not.”

“Okay, I’m just gonna...get some clothes,” he says, letting go of Ryan, and carefully stepping over to his side of the room. He grabs his bag, and takes out some clothes from it, throwing a pair of joggers and a t-shirt to Ryan. Ryan quickly pulls them on, feels how Shane’s cum trickles out of him, and screams at the sensation. A bead of it rolls down his thigh, and he’s trying to stand in a way that the joggers don’t stick to his legs, but alas, they do anyway. Shane tip-toes back to him, dressed in shorts and a frayed henley, bag in hand. He looks really hot, and Ryan hates the fact that he’s really considering asking for a round two, ghostfree edition.

Shane grabs his hands, and heads to the door, when he suddenly stops in his tracks, and looks at Ryan with such a horrified expression that Ryan’s concerned that he’s gonna have an attack of sorts.

“What?” he asks.

“The camera,” Shane responds.

“Oh.” Ryan blinks. “ _ OH! _ Oh nooo, no, no, no,” he realizes, spinning in place to look at the camera set up on the tripod Mark had left for them. Ryan goes over, stepping carefully, turns it off, and immediately starts folding the tripod up, holding it under an arm as he goes back to Shane.

When they step out into the corridor, they’re met by a bunch of guests squawking about. Many are confused, some are mad and demanding, others scared, all have been sleeping. They blend in, more or less, and as they make their way to the stairs, they keep having to play along with the guests: “Oh,  _ you _ also felt that earthquake? Weird, right?” 

“Did anyone else’s lightbulbs go out? Yeah? Huh.” 

“Oh, this camera stand? We were, uh, doing...sexy things.”

“Ryan,” Shane admonishes, eyes wide and agonizing. Ryan can only nervously giggle at him, and look away. He’s uncomfortably sticky.

“Haha, okay, honey–”  _ Honey?! _ What the fuck “–let’s go down to lobby, because all our shit is covered in glass, and I’m not gonna go back there barefoot,” Ryan rushes, holding Shane’s elbow and scurrying them down the stairs.

The lobby...is a mess. Dear God. The poor receptionist and bellhop are being accosted by numerous angry guests demanding to know what exactly is going on here, at three in the morning. Shane and Ryan move to the side, planning on waiting out the deluge of barrages. Ryan has half a mind to put the camera and tripod into Shane’s bag.

It’s a few hours later when they can finally be attended to, and all they have asked for is for the glass to be removed. The receptionist, Tiffany, is confused.

“You want to stay in your room?” she asks.

“I mean, I guess so. The worst is probably over, right?” Shane says.

She looks over at Ryan, who can only shrug and nod.

She looks back at Shane.

“Really? Just to clean the glass?”

“Yes.”

She leans back. “Okay.” She looks over at the buttons, Stone, and motions for them to go and...clean their room. As they walk away, Tiffany looks back at the boys.

“It will just take a second.”

“Oh, don’t worry, take your time,” Shane says, waving her worries off.

“Uh, please, sit,” she gestures to the couches, where a few people are seated, grumbling into their coffees. “Please drink some complimentary coffee.”

“We will, thank you!” Ryan says, all chipper and bright smiles. Tiffany warily smiles back, and goes to attend to the next guest. They make their way over to the makeshift coffee stand and pour themselves two cups of joe. They drink in companionable silence against the wall, looking over the lobby.

“What time is it?” Shane asks. Ryan looks at the clock on the mantelpiece.

“It’s 5:47 a.m.”

“Great. We have to get up in a few hours.”

“Oh my God, did we ever sleep at all tonight?”

“Does the ghost possession count?”

Ryan snorts into his cup. He brings it down, looks into the brown liquid.

“Do you think that the ghosts were really set free?” he asks.

“By us making love?”

Ryan sneaks a quick glance over at him. Shane’s also looking thoughtfully into his coffee, cheeks an adorable shade of pink. Ryan grins at him, feels his own cheeks flush.

“Yeah! We completed their sexy ritual, and the ghosts were finally able to move on! We accomplished what they set out here to do,” he says, and watches as Shane finally looks at him.

“They finally got that post-nut zen, huh,” Shane says, and Ryan just cracks up, doubling over with laughter. The other patrons in the reception look over at him, but he can’t see them at all. Shane waves at them, though.

“Did  _ we _ even have any post-nut zen?” Ryan asks. He wipes at tears.

“Yeah, I think we did, for at least three seconds before the ghosts freaked out on us.”

“God, you know what’s the worst?” Ryan asks, looking seriously at Shane now. He raises an eyebrow at him. “Because our zen was hella interrupted, we couldn’t get cleaned, so I...still...had your, uh,” he trails off at seeing Shane raise his eyebrows in alarm, clearly understanding. He can’t help but let out a laugh. “Dude, my legs are a mess right now.”

“Jesus Christ, Ryan,” Shane manages, face as bright as a tomato. He looks away, diverts his gaze anywhere else in the room. Ryan pats his shoulder, emboldens himself to hook their arms together. Shane doesn’t even blink at that.

“This entire time?! That the–the, that the…” here he drops to a low whisper, “ _ semen _ , it… trickled out of you?”

“Well, it’s dry  _ now _ , but yeah, it did. Like a waterfall.”

Shane’s face contorts into various expressions, each too complex to decipher. He’s nearing a conniption. Ryan waits with bated breath.

“Okay,” Shane says, more to calm himself down. He lifts his hands in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay, okay. Okay.”

“You okay there?” Ryan asks, cheeky grinned.

“Yes I am, uh,” Shane begins. He steeples his hands, and points them at Ryan while still not looking at him. “You can keep the pants. They can be your pants now.”

“So you  _ don’t  _ wanna wear these pants that are currently stuck to my ass  _ from your jizz _ sometime in the near future?”

Shane lets out a noise that sounds pained but also incredibly mad. Ryan chuckles at him.

“You know what? Just burn them,” Shane suggests, and Ryan laughs at that.

~°☆°~

They decided not to try to sleep anymore, seeing as how they had gone through exploding lightbulbs, angry guests, roaring ghosties, and several cups of coffee. They had properly showered, even made out under the shower stream, perhaps even did some things that they had to wash away again, and dressed in their day clothes. They went down to wait for their team to pick them up in the lobby, and finally took out their phones to film their morning reactions.

“So, Shane,” Ryan asks, holding his phone up to Shane. “How’d you think it went?”

“Well, aside from the crazy shit that happened last night, I gotta say: nothing happened last night,” he deadpans, looking over the camera to Ryan, and Ryan grins.

“Really? Nothing happened last night that could’ve changed your mind?”

“No,” Shane says, shaking his head. Ryan spins the camera to face himself, and he gives a frustrated smile. He shakes his head, sighs dramatically, and Shane laughs. He stops the video, puts his phone back in his bag, and now they wait again.

Shane takes his hand, interlaces their fingers, and brings their hands up to kiss the back of Ryan’s hand. Ryan’s soul soars at that, and he looks over to see Shane trying to cover his blushing cheeks. He smiles at him, and pulls him close to kiss his warm cheek. Shane makes a noise at that, but doesn’t pull away. He rests his head on Ryan’s shoulder instead, and Ryan presses another kiss to his hair.

~°☆°~

As the boys drove away in their teams’ car, hand in hand, explaining that there was a power surge that was  _ so _ crazy, the remaining ghosts at Pevney Hotel watched them leave, waving them goodbye, happy that their friends from the Litau Venus cult could finally find peace in the beyond.


End file.
